ADL: German Bishops must repudiate comparison of Ramallah to Warsaw Ghetto

[Purveyor]

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on the German Catholic Bishops' Conference to publicly repudiate remarks made by members of a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territories, who reportedly compared living conditions in the West Bank with those of Jews forced into the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.

Bishop Gregor Maria Hanke, the Bishop of Eichstaett, has since clarified his statements, saying that comparisons between the Holocaust and the Palestinian territories are "unacceptable."

"While we were encouraged by Bishop Hanke's clarification of his personal remarks, we believe that it is imperative for the German Bishops' Conference to publicly and strongly reaffirm that any comparison between the Holocaust and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is inappropriate and a breach of church teachings," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.

In a letter to Karl Cardinal Lehmann, Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, ADL called on the religious body to "issue a proclamation as soon as possible," noting that the remarks of some delegation members "violate Vatican teachings about the uniqueness of the Shoah."

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http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/10883.htm

[BayCityProgressive]

1. Sometimes the truth hurts

[breakaleg]

2. I have images of a 5 year old jumping up and down screaming "take it back!" n/t

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hobbit709]

4. If it walks like a duck....

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Careful, you all will get banned

Comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the Holocaust is verboten.

[Hunky Dunky]

7. It's not verboten to make the comparison

But it is extremely silly.

[breakaleg]

6. Calling out the big guns...

Ramallah isn't Warsaw

German Church's comparison of Israel to Nazis clear anti-Semitic expression

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When several members of the Bishop committee, the top body of the Catholic Church in Germany, allow themselves, only several hours after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, to associate the horrors of the Holocaust with the situation in the Territories, this gives rise to a question: To what extent are the Catholic Church and German society still tainted by anti-Semitism.

--snip--

Rewriting history

If various polls show that 30 percent of Germans believe Israel's attitude to the Palestinians is identical to the Nazi attitude towards the Jews, then too many Germans have not learned any lesson from the history of their country. What's worse, part of the German elites have contributed to it and are still contributing to the fact that Germany's despicable past is blurred within collective memory and replaced by ancient, sickening ideas.

--snip--

So I've changed my mind: This is not about chutzpa, insensitivity, and foolishness; this is about pure anti-Semitism, in the best tradition of the Middle Ages. And if they are telling us that Pope Benedict XVI will not be visiting Israel before resolving the question of Church assets, perhaps Israel is the one that should condition the Pope's visit, and particularly that of a German Pope, on complete rejection of the anti-Semitic filth that is still common among his followers.

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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3374026,00.html

[Tom Joad]

8. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers are cheerfully stoning Palesitnians, and facing no

consequences. Palestinians have been put on a "diet" (sanctions deliberatly undetaken to increase hunger in Gaza and the West Bank). Palestinians face torture in Israeli prisons. Palestinian homes are demolished. Olive trees are being uprooted.

Whatever it is called, whatever it is compared to, it is a great crime that is being committed, and with US taxpayers money.

[Violet_Crumble]

9. I agree with the ADL about this...

Apart from the obvious fact that despite the bad conditions the Palestinians are living under, the living conditions are not comparable to the Warsaw Ghetto, it's the height of insensitivity for anyone, let alone a German religious guy, to visit Yad Vashem and then within hours compare living conditions in Ramallah to the Warsaw Ghetto. What the hell was that Bishop thinking? Any good that had come of their visit, and the legitimate criticisms of the occupation, end up forgotten all because of one very insensitive comment. There's plenty to be critical of Israel for when it comes to the occupation, but anything that compares Israel's actions to that of the Nazis is way over the line and ends up harming the Palestinian cause rather than helping it...